Thanksgiving and the Mayflower

Knowledge can be enjoyably empowering, and for the last few years Thanksgiving has meant so much more to me. For most of my life I had no idea that I had any type of connection to the first Thanksgiving. I had almost no awareness beyond the generation before me and the generation after me.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that according to recorded history, I had an ancestor who came to America in the Mayflower. What’s more, he would have been present at the very first Thanksgiving.

This newfound knowledge brings more meaning to this holiday for me, and it is my Thanksgiving wish that those who have not discovered their own personal connection to the first Thanksgiving find it soon.

This wish relates to a really huge number of people. According to estimates I’ve seen, about 35 million people have Mayflower ancestry from one or more of the dozens of Mayflower Pilgrims. That’s about one in ten living Americans, and I’m betting that most of them do not yet know. You may be one of them.

3 thoughts on “Thanksgiving and the Mayflower”

I like the way you have listed all the surnames that the Family Forest has found to be linked to the original pilgrims following the eBook titles. It is very helpful to determine which titles may contain information about my own ancestors. With one out of ten living Americans having roots to the Mayflower Pilgrims, your eBooks should become best sellers as the holiday gift season begins.
Good for you for doing all this research. You have made the task of genealogy a whole lot easier and my children and grandchildren appreciate it.

As you may know, Virginia also claims the first Thanksgiving. Scholars believe the Plymouth Thanksgiving was second in line. President John F. Kennedy agreed to the historical evidence that proves this, and I can remember when Mr. Kennedy, who was one of America’s greatest leaders, announced his acceptance of this fact. This does not mean that we should be any less proud of the Plymouth Colony and its celebration of God’s blessings on our land too. As a son of Jamestown, I think of both the Plymouth Celebration as well as ours in Virginia. I am proud of both. America, north and south, is truly a great nation. To my northern neighbors, I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving. Remember, Christmas and Chanukah are important also.